The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has started a major national healthcare intervention project, which is developed to stop medical tourism to other destinations with the provision of state-of-the-art hospitals and diagnostic centers across Nigeria.

The corporation advised that the plan for medical tourism has a gestation period of 5 years for the project to gain significant impact in Nigeria’s healthcare delivery system.

In a statement Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, from its Group General Manager, Public Affairs in Abuja, said according to it, the first of the plan would include occupational health that is designed to specifically service NNPC staff, their dependents and retirees.

The statement also added that all the current NNPC clinics would fall under scheme and need to be upgraded to reflect the new realities.

However, the second scheme includes some key NNPC hospitals such as the erstwhile Abuja International Diagnostic Centre (AIDC) and the Benoni Hospital in Benin City. These hospitals are equipped to service both NNPC staff and outsiders due to their projected excess capacity.

And, the third leg of the medical project that has been assigned as new business, the corporation said that it will involve the places where high-tech hospitals and diagnostic centres will be constructed on NNPC un-utilized lands in Kaduna, Mosimi and Port Harcourt for commercial purposes.

Dr. Maikanti Baru, NNPC Group Managing Director, said he is pleased by the development that is being spearheaded by the NNPC Medicals. He noted that this project would give an impact on the bottom line of the corporation in the long run.

Baru, confirmed that apart from the financial benefits, the project promises to make the progress that is being made in the transformation efforts to reposition NNPC as a fully integrated company of the future.

As per NNPC, the plan would basically make AIDC a hub for other clinics through telemedicine.

“This process allows the remote delivery of healthcare services, such as health assessments or consultations with the support of telecommunications and information technology infrastructure.

“It will enable the healthcare providers to evaluate, diagnose and treat patients without the need for an in-person visit,” it added.

Dr. Babatunde Adeniran said, Quoting the Chief Operating Officer, NNPC Ventures, this new medical vision is modeled and inspired in part by successes recorded in other jurisdictions such as Saudi Arabia, Saudi Aramco, for offering best medical care to its staff and residents of other Middle East countries.

“NNPC has 52 clinics/hospitals, the largest network of healthcare facilities in Nigeria which is enough capacity for us to build on, upgrade the facilities and achieve our commercialization dream. “The aim is to reduce to zero, medical tourism and the accompanied capital flight with a view to retaining the money in Nigeria while also improving NNPC’s revenue,” said Adeniran.